Viking coins found on Newcastle farmland

Viking coins found on Newcastle farmland

30 November 2016

A TREASURE hunter has unearthed two extremely rare Viking coins on farmland near Newcastle.

After 10 years of metal detecting Brian Morton did not immediately realise the significance of his discovery but soon learned he had unearthed two very rare Hibernian-Manx coins.

The 43 year-old, from Moneymore, is a full-time carer who enjoys metal detecting once a week.

He told a treasure inquest in Belfast on Friday that he had not been searching for anything specific when he requested permission to scour the field.

“It was just a general place to go out,” he told the court. “I was looking for a wee bit of history and this popped out.

“I had never seen anything like it.”

He added: “I was quite excited to say the least.”

The inquest heard the discovery of the Hiberno-Manx silver coins, found under 10cm of mud, was a first for Northern Ireland, with less than a handful found anywhere in Ireland during the past four decades.

They were mainly circulated in the Isle of Man during the 11th century and are 93 per cent silver.

Exactly how the coins made their way to County Down is unclear but the court heard that there had been a Viking raid on a nearby monastery at Maghera.

The discovery may also reflect more peaceful trading or strategic links between the Isle of Man and south-east Ulster.

Robert Heslip, a former curator of coins at the Ulster Museum, said they were probably ped by someone passing between two places.

“I would think that it is more likely to be a loss given that they were separated,” he said. “Also, two is an odd number. You generally find one or a hoard of these coins.”

The coins will now be sent to the British Museum for independent valuation and the money will be split between the finder and landowner.

Dr Greer Ramsey, of National Museums Northern Ireland, said: “We take coinage totally for granted but, prior to the Viking period in Ireland, there wasn’t coinage and silver was the main form of currency.

“Different areas had their own styles of coins so finding different coins from different areas gives you a measure of contact.

“The Hibernia-Manx coins seem to have been circulated mainly in the Isle of Man and maybe in Scotland, but there have been no authenticated finds from Ireland.

“There are some Manx finds in collections but that’s what they are, collections.

“The significance is these coins are really the first that we can say were found in Ireland. It is a measure of contact — that people from the Isle of Man were travelling over.”

Offering her congratulations, coroner Suzanne Anderson said she was “happy” to declare the discovery treasure.

The coroner said: “I congratulate Mr Morton and thank him for giving them over to the Ulster Museum.”